Current EV owners…are you staying BEV or switching to Harvester?

[cyure]

Live in a weak area of Texas as well. Never can tell, but do not see it getting better. Nearest gas station is 25 minutes. We always fill the tank before heading home. Been keeping track of my local travels. 350 range works with a comfortable reserve. Less would be less so.
Another issue. Not sure how the range is figured. But guessing at 55. Speed limit ranges between 60-80. Which cuts into the range. I would have to take the triangle caution off the tractor if I went slower than the speed limit.

I thought EV range was figured at 70 but I could be wrong.

 

[bwdavis7]

My 2cents, for what it's worth:

Almost one full year into our BEV "test" vehicle, an Ioniq5 - switched my reservation from Harvester to BEV within a couple months of owning the Hyundai, and have no desire to switch back.

Our use case is probably pretty typical of the average American - it's my wife's daily, 6-12 miles per day, and the only vehicle we drive when the two of us are together - unless we are hauling big/dirty things or the dog, then we take the Xterra. I wish we had sprung for the Limited package on the Hyundai, as I find the leather seats in the Xterra way easier to get dog hair and muddy paw prints off of, then the cloth seats in the Ioniq.

For Thanksgiving, we had the chance to spend a couple days in a cabin in the mountains, about 5,000' higher than where we live, so lots of highway climbing to get there. ABRP said we would get to the cabin with 35% remaining, so I charged to 100% and we set off, with the general locations of a couple fast chargers in mind. Drove "spiritedly ", since the endless torque, AWD and heavy weight of the Hyundai make it a fantastic canyon/mountain car, and actually still had 50% charge when we got there.

I was kind of looking forward to seeing if the 50% was accurate, but also didn't want any drama during a holiday, so I plugged in the Level 1 charger I carry for a few hours the day before we left for home. In hindsight there was no need, we burned 50% on the way up, but only 24% on the way down - as I said the drive up was spirited, and the drive down is a lot of downhill, so lots of regen - we keep it on level 2, so the car drives exactly like a regular ICE automatic. Had I not charged at all on this trip, we would have made it home with well over 20% remaining.

My wife and I had this very discussion on the way home, we have a reservation for a Rivian R2 for my wife which should line up more or less with the end of our "tester" lease on the Ioniq - BUT the Ioniq is without question, after one year, the best car we've ever owned, if the R2 is not very, very special, we'll just be getting another Ioniq, but the next one will have all the options. We may look at buying a lease return "limited" Ioniq5, as leasing doesn't sit right with me, but that's just me. After 2008 it took 11 years to climb back out of debt, and leasing feels like backsliding. In any case an ICE or hybrid for her car is out of the question, she's never going back....

The Scout reservation is for me, and I'll keep driving the Xterra until its ready. We discussed maybe keeping it, so we have an ICE vehicle "just in case", but I'm staring to wonder: in case of what?

As long as there is a 300m+ range in the Scout, it will work for the vast majority of what we do way better than any ICE vehicle - but part of adapting to a BEV is being willing to adapt to change. At this point I am fully willing to add an hour to a long road trip day to accommodate charging stops, and in the big picture I would have saved much more than that hour between road trips, because I NEVER go to gas stations. When I do fill the Xterra I find the whole experience expensive and annoying, but it was such a part of my life for decades before that I never questioned it. I'm questioning it now; plugging in the car on my wife's days off is way less intrusive than going to gas stations every week. The kids are grown and the parents are gone, so hopefully my holiday 900 mile day road trips are over anyway? If not, much safer and more fun to find a charger near a restaurant and relax for 30 minutes.

If I towed regularly for long distances ( I tow a boat in the summer, but only 50 miles each way,) I'm looking forward to seeing how the Scout handles that, if I even still own the boat by then, then I might feel differently, but for now I"m more than happy with the tradeoffs of switching to BEV - I'd say for us the benefits far outweigh the costs, and like @SpaceEVDriver, the panels on the roof more than cover the costs of charging the car. We still haven't gotten around to installing a level 2 charger, for our use case we just don't need it. Driving free and loving it....

I think you nailed my use case. I did switch to BEV from Harvester based on being educated in this forum and renting an Ioniq 5 for a week in Arizona. I never had driven an EV before and that sold me. I still want an Ioniq 5 to knock around in while I wait on my Scout. Since renting the Ioniq 5, it is irritating to me to have to stop regularly to fill up with gas, change oil, listen to that ICE roar when needing extra power, changing gears... Then I read about people having to spend extra time charging up an EV on long trips, I would rarely have that need for me personally. However with ICE, I am now conscious of the cumulative time of all of those regular gas fill ups and the time for routine maintenance which I would quickly trade for the rare few extra minutes recharging a BEV. I basically have no concerns that a BEV will be the right fit for me. If I needed to travel long distances in rural areas or needed to tow for long distances, the choice would be much harder and I hope Scout Motors comes through with a model that clearly fits other's use cases.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I thought EV range was figured at 70 but I could be wrong.

No. It's a mix of city (55%, stop and go) and "highway" (45%, at 65 mph) driving. It's a poorly-designed test that was very clearly influenced by the auto manufacturers. It's done in a laboratory and oesn't include air resistance. Manufacturers are also given the option to reduce the final range numbers (but they cannot use a number larger than their results). Several manufacturers (brand-T, for example) use the maximum number their tests give while others (Ford, for example) derate their range results.

It's a mess. There should be a city range number and a 75 mph highway range number. They should be run on a track, not in a lab.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Live in a weak area of Texas as well. Never can tell, but do not see it getting better. Nearest gas station is 25 minutes. We always fill the tank before heading home. Been keeping track of my local travels. 350 range works with a comfortable reserve. Less would be less so.
Another issue. Not sure how the range is figured. But guessing at 55. Speed limit ranges between 60-80. Which cuts into the range. I would have to take the triangle caution off the tractor if I went slower than the speed limit.

And remember that instead of refueling 25 minutes from home, you get to refuel at home with either the BEV (back up to 350 miles range) or the Harvester (up to 150 miles range).

 

[cyure]

And remember that instead of refueling 25 minutes from home, you get to refuel at home with either the BEV (back up to 350 miles range) or the Harvester (up to 150 miles range).

I wish I could do that today. I need gas and it’s cold!

 

[MaddMatt]

I wish I could do that today. I need gas and it’s cold!

Yeah, 11 degree (f) today - BEV is quietly charging in the garage, when we need to go somewhere it will be nearly full and instantly warm and cozy...

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

No. It's a mix of city (55%, stop and go) and "highway" (45%, at 65 mph) driving. It's a poorly-designed test that was very clearly influenced by the auto manufacturers. It's done in a laboratory and oesn't include air resistance. Manufacturers are also given the option to reduce the final range numbers (but they cannot use a number larger than their results). Several manufacturers (brand-T, for example) use the maximum number their tests give while others (Ford, for example) derate their range results.

It's a mess. There should be a city range number and a 75 mph highway range number. They should be run on a track, not in a lab.

I should add:
The EPA uses sophisticated physics models to correct for not being on an outdoor track. This makes it a more fair test to the automobile manufacturers. If they didn’t, some manufacturers might choose to delay the release of their vehicle until they can run the test during a favorable time of year to get the better numbers.

The issue is that the sophisticated physics doesn’t account for real-world mix of experiences that customers encounter, so while it’s fair to the manufacturers to allow in-lab testing with physics modeling correctives, it’s not really fair to consumers who then have to run their vehicle in different conditions 99% of the time.

 

[cyure]

Yeah, 11 degree (f) today - BEV is quietly charging in the garage, when we need to go somewhere it will be nearly full and instantly warm and cozy...

That sounds like heaven. With the wind it feels like 1 here. 1!

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

That sounds like heaven. With the wind it feels like 1 here. 1!

The first time we experienced it was just amazing.
I thought we’d become rich!
I didn’t have to trudge out to the car in the freezing, wet cold to warm it up!

 

[cyure]

The first time we experienced it was just amazing.
I thought we’d become rich!
I didn’t have to trudge out to the car in the freezing, wet cold to warm it up!

I’m annoyed just having to go out in the garage and open the door so I can start the Jeep and let her warm up. There isn’t even any trudging involved and I still hate it.

 

[J Alynn]

I wish I could do that today. I need gas and it’s cold!

The joy of a BEV we have yet to realize

 

[J Alynn]

The first time we experienced it was just amazing.
I thought we’d become rich!
I didn’t have to trudge out to the car in the freezing, wet cold to warm it up!

I can’t wait for that experience

 

[J Alynn]

I’m annoyed just having to go out in the garage and open the door so I can start the Jeep and let her warm up. There isn’t even any trudging involved and I still hate it.

And right now it’s sleeting in PA so it’s sloppy and WET rather than snow which sucks even more when you need gas

 

[Westfork]

Thanks for clarifying how mileage is calculated. Sounds a little more doable.
Won’t comment on the weather, only to say it was in the low 70’s yesterday and today it’s not.

 

[apex96]

And right now it’s sleeting in PA so it’s sloppy and WET rather than snow which sucks even more when you need gas

On the southwestern side of the state we have high winds and sporadic rain... Snow incoming on Tuesday though!

 

[J Alynn]

On the southwestern side of the state we have high winds and sporadic rain... Snow incoming on Tuesday though!

Yeah. And you guys s will get lake effect. I’ll be surprised if we get 2”. I’m guessing your area will be 5”-10”???

 

[apex96]

Yeah. And you guys s will get lake effect. I’ll be surprised if we get 2”. I’m guessing your area will be 5”-10”???

Thankfully the southwestern portion of PA isn't as impacted like Erie, Butler and Beaver counties are. I'm in the area of Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties. We get snow but we tend to escape the lake affect snow bands.

 

[J Alynn]

Thankfully the southwestern portion of PA isn't as impacted like Erie, Butler and BEaver counties are. I'm in the area of Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties. We get snow but we tend to escape the lake affect snow bands.

Makes sense. My parents were in Canonsburg for quite a few areas and former employer built houses in several areas around the Burgh

 

[apex96]

Makes sense. My parents were in Canonsburg for quite a few areas and former employer built houses in several areas around the Burgh

That area is a 25 minute drive from me. Love the craft breweries that have sprung up in Houston/Canonsburg PA area.

 

[N Wilson]

The first time we experienced it was just amazing.
I thought we’d become rich!
I didn’t have to trudge out to the car in the freezing, wet cold to warm it up!

^^^ This

It really is a game changer to be able to set a departure time on your phone from the warmth of your house, then walk out to a warm truck with heated seats on and warm steering wheel. I haven't even had it through the coldest part of winter yet, and already I love it. I can only imagine how much more I'll appreciate it when the really cold weather sets in this winter.

According to the 10 day forecast I might not have to wait that long for the cold weather. Supposedly, Thursday this week will be a high of 31°F and a low of 4°F.